British People Spend Half Of Their Life Using Media

A new report from Ofcom has revealed the average Brition spends half of their life using media and communications with games consoles being one of the biggest uses as an entertainment system.
The report suggests UK residents spend an average of nine hours a day either a wide variety of media and communication services including using the internet, watching TV and playing video games.
After compiling masses of research Ofcom found younger generations were learning to multi-task media usage whether that be texting on the mobile while surfing the net or listening to the radio while playing games.
“They are taking up more and more communications activities but fitting them into the same amount of time,” said James Thickett, director of market research and market intelligence at Ofcom.
The report also looks at the use of game consoles as media hubs allowing people to access a variety of media through the console.
One of the main uses was on demand TV with one in ten households using a console to access BBC iPlayer. PS3 and Wii access for BBC iPlayer accounted for 10% of the overall viewing figures for the iPlayer.
Other aspects of how the console was used included watching DVD/Blu-Rays, online gaming, web browsing and watching live video feeds such as Xbox 360’s Sky Player.
Interestingly playing games online was now as popular as downloading music and videos with 39% of internet users play games online compared to the 38% who download music and films.
Games consoles came second in the most purchased communication device in the past year beating the likes of smartphones and Blu-Ray players. HDTVs accounted for 22% as the most bought item while games consoles were catching up with 14% of the results.
By the sounds of things games consoles are becoming more dominant in a families everyday life and being seen as an entertainment system rather than a stand-alone games console.
The full Communications Market Report which is launched annually can can be found here.